The present invention relates to firearm supports, and more particularly, to firearm supports commonly referred to as firearm steady-rest sighting supports used to steady a firearm for accurate shooting.
Rifle or firearms supports have been in existence since the advent of firearms for improving firing accuracy. Such supports, sometimes referred to as shooting sticks, are in the form of a mono-pod, a bi-pod or tripod leg configuration, and other supports are in the form of firearm cradle supports which support the rifle from a table top for sighting in a rifle.
Some supports are attached directly to the rifle, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,706, or they can be independent support devices in which the rifle is rested. US Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0094911, discloses a rifle support which is attached to the rifle sling as opposed to being attached to the rifle.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0261287 illustrates a similar firearm support system which also secures to the rifle sling. The advantage of these latter configurations is that the collapsible legs in a stored position may be oriented along the sling. However, the collapsible leg or legs have an elastic member extending through the tubular legs so that the elastic members resiliently bias the legs to automatically deploy to a fully extended position when released from its or their containment to the rifle sling. However, a problem encountered with this particular arrangement is that the deployment of the leg or legs is extremely noisy and can thereby easily scare off game within hearing distance. In addition, the bi-pod legs when deployed must be manually positioned and held.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide an improved firearm steady-rest support system which is easily carried and deployed, and which can be readily and quickly secured to any firearm or rifle without special adaptation.